Africa Faces Escalating Food Crisis as Conflict and Climate Impacts Drive Hunger

Africa Center for Strategic Studies reports that 163 million Africans are currently experiencing acute food insecurity, a number that has nearly tripled in just five years, according to new data. Of those affected, 80% reside in conflict-affected countries, with up to 840,000 people at risk of famine in regions such as Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali.

Acute food insecurity occurs when a person’s inability to consume adequate food puts their life or livelihood in immediate danger. This situation corresponds to Phase 3 or higher on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) scale, ranging from crisis (Phase 3) to catastrophe (Phase 5, or famine). The report reveals that 130 million of the affected individuals are living in countries experiencing long-standing conflicts, where years of violence have significantly weakened both community resilience and national response systems.

In fact, 13 of the 16 African countries with the highest numbers of acutely food-insecure individuals are currently embroiled in conflict. These conflict-affected nations account for 94% of those facing emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) and all of those experiencing famine-level conditions (IPC Phase 5).

Famine has already been declared in Sudan’s Darfur region, and famine conditions are also likely present in parts of South Sudan and Mali, though the lack of access to certain areas has hampered data collection.

While Africa’s food insecurity crisis continues to worsen in many regions, some countries have seen improvements. Ethiopia, for instance, witnessed a drop in the number of acutely food-insecure individuals by 3.9 million, largely due to the resolution of the Tigray conflict. Somalia and Uganda also saw significant declines—2.2 million and 1.2 million people, respectively—thanks to the end of the 2020-2023 East Africa drought.

However, countries like Nigeria, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain among the hardest hit. Each of these nations has more than 20 million people facing crisis-level food insecurity or worse. Collectively, they account for about half of the acutely food-insecure population in Africa. Nigeria and Sudan, in particular, have seen alarming increases, adding 6.8 million and 5.3 million more people to their food-insecure populations over the past year.

Several nations have shockingly high percentages of their populations affected by acute hunger. In South Sudan, 64% of the population is food insecure, followed by Sudan at 53%, Namibia at 48%, and the Central African Republic at 44%. Overall, 23 out of 54 African countries now have at least 10% of their populations facing acute food insecurity—more than double the number recorded in 2019.

While conflict remains the leading driver of food insecurity, other factors have contributed to the worsening situation. The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted food production and trade. Additionally, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted global supply chains, driving up food prices. Piracy, Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean, and various weather shocks have further exacerbated the situation.

This year, the El Niño climate pattern caused a devastating drought in Southern Africa, while unusually heavy rainfall in West and Central Africa—attributed to the transition to La Niña—affected rain-dependent agriculture, further threatening food security across the continent.

As these compounding factors continue to put pressure on food systems, millions of Africans remain at risk of hunger and malnutrition. Urgent interventions are needed to address both the immediate crisis and the underlying drivers of food insecurity.

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